A lubricating oil composition for engine oil applications often has to meet certain performance requirements as stipulated in specifications established by the industry and/or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In general, engine oils have to provide adequate levels of oxidation and wear protection, sludge and deposit formation control, fuel economy benefits, compatibility with sealing materials, and other desirable physical and rheological characteristics that are essential for lubrication and serviceability, as determined by various standardized engine and bench tests. For example, ASTM Sequence IIIG test is one of the required engine tests in ILSAC GF-4/API SM, ILSAC GF-5/API SN and GM Dexosl™ specifications, with its minimum weighted piston deposit (WPD) cleanliness merit rating of 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5, respectively. Hence continual improvement in WPD performance is likely one of many desirable features for engine lubricating oils to achieve for future specifications. Similarly, a desire for enhanced fuel economy performance of engine oils may necessitate an increase in friction modifier usage level that has been known to impact negatively on the ability of the lubricant composition to maintain stable emulsions as determined by mixing water and E85 fuel in the ASTM D7563 Emulsion Retention Test.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved lubricant additive compositions that can provide improved piston deposit control as well as improved emulsion stability and that are suitable for meeting or exceeding currently proposed and future lubricant performance standards.
With regard to the foregoing, embodiments of the disclosure provide a lubricant additive composition, a method for reducing engine deposit formation and a method for improving emulsion stability of a lubricant composition. The lubricant additive composition includes (a) an organomolybdenum compound contributing from about 50 to about 300 ppm by weight molybdenum to a lubricant composition based on a total weight of the lubricant composition containing the additive composition; (b) a boronated hydrocarbyl substituted succinimide dispersant; and (c) a reaction product of (i) a hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride, (ii) a polyamine, (iii) a dicarboxyl-containing fused aromatic compound, and (iv) a non-aromatic dicarboxylic acid or anhydride. The hydocarbyl group of the hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride has a number average molecular weight of greater than 1800 Daltons as determined by gel permeation chromatography. A weight ratio of (b) to (c) ranges from about 1:1 to about 4:1.
Another embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for controlling piston depositions in an engine. The method includes lubricating the engine with a lubricant composition that includes a base oil of lubricating viscosity and an additive composition that includes: (a) an organomolybdenum compound contributing from about 50 to about 300 ppm by weight of molybdenum to the lubricant composition based on a total weight of the lubricant composition; (b) a boronated hydrocarbyl substituted succinimide dispersant; and (c) a reaction product of (i) a hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride, (ii) a polyamine, (iii) a dicarboxyl-containing fused aromatic compound, and (iv) a non-aromatic dicarboxylic acid or anhydride. The hydocarbyl group of the hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride has a number average molecular weight of greater than 1800 Daltons as determined by gel permeation chromatography. A weight ratio of (b) to (c) ranges from about 1:1 to about 4:1.
A further embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for maintaining an emulsion stability of an engine lubricant composition. The method includes lubricating the engine with a lubricant composition that includes a base oil of lubricating viscosity and a lubricant additive composition that contains: (a) an organomolybdenum compound contributing from about 50 to about 300 ppm by weight of molybdenum to the lubricant composition based on a total weight of the lubricant composition; (b) a boronated hydrocarbyl substituted succinimide dispersant; and (c) a reaction product of (i) a hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride, (ii) a polyamine, (iii) a dicarboxyl-containing fused aromatic compound, and (iv) a non-aromatic dicarboxylic acid or anhydride. The hydocarbyl group of the hydrocarbyl-dicarboxylic acid or anhydride has a number average molecular weight of greater than 1800 Daltons as determined by gel permeation chromatography. A weight ratio of (b) to (c) ranges from about 1:1 to about 4:1.
An unexpected advantage of the use of the dispersant additive composition of the disclosed embodiments is that the composition not only provides improved engine deposit control, it also enables an increase in metal containing friction modifiers without adversely affecting the emulsion stability of the lubricant composition.
The following definitions of terms are provided in order to clarify the meanings of certain terms as used herein.
As used herein, the terms “oil composition,” “lubrication composition,” “lubricating oil composition,” “lubricating oil,” “lubricant composition,” “lubricating composition,” “fully formulated lubricant composition,” and “lubricant” are considered synonymous, fully interchangeable terminology referring to the finished lubrication product comprising a major amount of a base oil plus a minor amount of an additive composition.
As used herein, the terms “additive package,” “additive concentrate,” and “additive composition” are considered synonymous, fully interchangeable terminology referring the portion of the lubricating composition excluding the major amount of base oil stock mixture.
As used herein, the term “hydrocarbyl substituent” or “hydrocarbyl group” is used in its ordinary sense, which is well-known to those skilled in the art. Specifically, it refers to a group having a carbon atom directly attached to the remainder of the molecule and having predominantly hydrocarbon character. Examples of hydrocarbyl groups include:                (1) hydrocarbon substituents, that is, aliphatic (e.g., alkyl or alkenyl), alicyclic (e.g., cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl) substituents, and aromatic-, aliphatic-, and alicyclic-substituted aromatic substituents, as well as cyclic substituents wherein the ring is completed through another portion of the molecule (e.g., two substituents together form an alicyclic radical);        (2) substituted hydrocarbon substituents, that is, substituents containing non-hydrocarbon groups which, in the context of this invention, do not alter the predominantly hydrocarbon substituent (e.g., halo (especially chloro and fluoro), hydroxy, alkoxy, mercapto, alkylmercapto, nitro, nitroso, and sulfoxy);        (3) hetero substituents, that is, substituents which, while having a predominantly hydrocarbon character, in the context of this invention, contain other than carbon in a ring or chain otherwise composed of carbon atoms. Heteroatoms include sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and encompass substituents such as pyridyl, furyl, thienyl, and imidazolyl. In general, no more than two, for example, no more than one, non-hydrocarbon substituent will be present for every ten carbon atoms in the hydrocarbyl group; typically, there will be no non-hydrocarbon substituents in the hydrocarbyl group.        
As used herein, the term “percent by weight”, unless expressly stated otherwise, means the percentage the recited component represents to the weight of the entire composition.
The terms “oil-soluble” or “dispersible” used herein may but do not necessarily indicate that the compounds or additives are soluble, dissolvable, miscible, or capable of being suspended in the oil in all proportions. The foregoing terms do mean, however, that they are, for instance, soluble or stably dispersible in oil to an extent sufficient to exert their intended effect in the environment in which the oil is employed. Moreover, the additional incorporation of other additives may also permit incorporation of higher levels of a particular additive, if desired.
Lubricating oils, engine lubricating oils, and/or crankcase lubricating oils of the present disclosure may be formulated by the addition of one or more additives, as described in detail below, to an appropriate base oil formulation. The additives may be combined with a base oil in the form of an additive package (or concentrate) or, alternatively, may be combined individually with a base oil. The fully formulated lubricant, engine lubricant, and/or crankcase lubricant may exhibit improved performance properties, based on the additives added and their respective proportions.
Additional details and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and/or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. The details and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure, as claimed.